So Close, So Far
by Firenzie
Summary: Sora and Taichi haven't talked in a very long time. In this time, Sora has started dating Yamato. What happens when Taichi finally reunites with her again -- but then finds out? It's more drama-ish than fluffy, and I can't guarantee a happy ending... You'
1. Rainy Daze

So Close, So Far  
By Firenze  
  
A/N: I am fully aware that Sora and Yamato have become an official couple in the Japanese version of Digimon. Who knows if the censors (they seem like Taiora fans) will keep this couple in the American dub, but as of now, all us Taiora fans just have to learn to deal with this fact. I forewarn you now of what may come later on in the fic (Sorato), so if you are a rabid shipper and can't stand anything else, don't get mad at me. However, the basis of this fic is to portray Sora and Taichi's relationship (not in the romantic way most of you are thinking, I mean their friendship status and ways of human interaction and stuff) and how it has evolved over years. In my fic, they haven't talked for a long time, and when they suddenly do after all these years, they find themselves thrown into awkward situations and some rather unpleasant ones. Let's all pretend that during this time of their avoidance, Taichi never figured out Sora and Yamato were a couple...or did he? Things just seem more interesting this way, huh? Well, I'll end this extremely long author's note now...with a disclaimer. Digimon is not mine. If you think I'd have Sorato as the official couple -- keep on thinking that if it makes you happy. And finally, on with the fic!  
  
***  
  
Part 1: 'Rainy Daze'  
  
The day started off with fairly good weather. Many clouds enveloped the sky, but they were white of color and didn't seem very storm threatening. The sun peeked out behind the clouds, and though the wind was strong enough to blow children's kites up into trees, it simply seemed like normal, blustery, chilly, and gray February days. Or so it was until those innocent looking clouds tinted to dark gray, and the wind howled and roared and rustled tree leaves every which way. A rainstorm, though not particularly dangerous with thunder or lightning or such, was making its way towards the city of Odaiba. And rain was not exactly favorable conditions for playing soccer.  
  
The rain seemed to hit the soccer field the hardest. Sure, the water fertilized the earth and kept the grass nice and green, but it created tons of mud, which could be a nuisance to soccer players. Soccer players, however, were very used to rain and mud. Often, they found playing in the rain more fun than ever. So even as they were being drenched, the athletes kept on.  
  
Taichi Yagami was a soccer player himself, and no exception to being no stranger to rain and mud. As the small droplets hit him, he shrugged them off and kept on playing. Rain wasn't an enemy to him; in fact, he often embraced it. Being out in the rain had always been fun for him, even with the fear of pneumonia or cold. It didn't strike him how hard it was raining until some time later, when he was getting completely soaked and still practicing as hard as ever. He was in perfect line with the soccer goal, and ran as fast as he could, aiming his shot -- and then he slipped.  
  
The soccer ball sailed through the air, veering way off target, and Taichi landed with a hard thump on his back. Pain shot up almost immediately, but faded away just as quickly. Luckily he had not injured his spine, but the nipping winds and relentless rain were starting to give him a cold. He lay exhausted on his back, when his head turned, and he saw it.  
  
Not it, her. And not just any girl, but Sora Takenouchi, the girl who had formerly been his best friend in the entire world. No, they didn't ever decide to stop being friends, the transition into high school just made them hang around different people, make new friends, and drift slowly apart until their close relationship was nonexistent. Sure, if anyone asked, they would still say they were friends. But in actuality, they weren't close at all anymore. They never talked, the very most they could get was a 'hi' as they passed in the hallways, and that hardly happened either. Their paths rarely seemed to cross anymore.  
  
So it was extremely embarrassing to Taichi that the first time Sora noticed him again, he just had to slip and fall on his back like Charlie Brown when Lucy pulled the football away. Feeling very stupid, he brought his palm to slap his forehead. When he removed his hand, a mushy glob of mud was on his forehead, and tons more dripping from his hands. Sora was too nice to laugh, but the fact was, the scene was hilarious. He knew she was laughing on the inside. The thing he didn't understand was why Sora was at the soccer field in the pouring rain by herself.  
  
She was wearing dressy clothes too, but then again, anything more than a plain tank top and worn-out blue jeans was fancy for Sora. Or at least, the Sora that Taichi had grown up with, the tomboy wishing to be on the boys' soccer team, the Sora he would always remember as the real Sora Takenouchi. Now it wasn't uncommon to see her wearing pink and skirts and pink skirts, what she would have called torture back then. Right now, she was wearing a light blue skirt with a floral pattern of butter yellow daisies, a plain white shirt, and a yellow button up that was hardly considered a jacket. She was hugging her shoulders, obviously freezing cold, as she was in springtime clothing in the rain. Her cinnamon colored hair flew wildly about in the wind, only her yellow hairclips keeping it out of her face.  
  
'Hairclips...' Taichi thought vaguely, until he shook his head and finally straightened himself out. Not even bothering to collect his ball, he fixed himself up and made sure he looked somewhat presentable, then jogged over to Sora, more carefully so as not to slip and make a fool of himself again.  
  
Sora had been looking away, with a longing, waiting look in her sparkling ruby eyes. Anticipation was obvious on her face, especially the lingering worry etched into her features. Then she heard Taichi running up, the sloshing and splashing of his sneakers in puddles, and averted her attention to him. "Taichi," she said emotionlessly. Was it happiness, excitement, joy? Was it disappointment? Anger, resentment, bitterness, hostility? How did she feel about seeing him here? It was hard to tell.  
  
"Sora," he said softly, in the same unreadable tone.  
  
She draped her sweater tightly around her. Its bright yellow color seemed like sunshine in the dreary day, but to Taichi, Sora was the sunshine. However, at the moment, she seemed definitely displeased. "So what are you doing here?" Her voice was not sour, but in a way that implied if she could see one person in the world, it would not be him.  
  
"Playing soccer and falling hopelessly on my ass," he replied with a shrug. He figured she had just been being polite, to start some kind of mindless small talk, but she giggled at his words, showing she was actually listening back. And whether she was into their conversation or not, Taichi was honestly interested in the cause of Sora being there. Hiding the eagerness from his voice, he asked a casual, "You?"  
  
A smile came to her soft pink lips, but it was obviously forced. "Well." She didn't answer for a while, still staring distantly off into the street of the city. The only sound was the endless fall of the raindrops into the puddles, the patter noise as it fell swiftly down onto the metal bleachers. Taichi was losing himself in its gentle rhythm, until she finally replied to his question. "I'm waiting."  
  
"For someone?"  
  
She nodded, but said nothing.  
  
Taichi took a seat next to her in the stands; though his spot was covered in a puddle of water, he couldn't care less, since he was soaked enough. He still looked straight at her, but her gaze was still fixated away. "Must be someone really special if you're sitting out here in a storm waiting for them. I saw you here hours ago..." He couldn't bring himself to say she had been stood up. The fact that someone would keep a sweet, kind girl like Sora waiting for so long surprised him. 'They're probably some huge jerk...' Taichi thought. 'What other kind of person could they be to keep a girl as wonderful waiting for hours in the rain?'  
  
"Yes, he's very special," she said quietly.  
  
"He?" Taichi inquired. "So do I know this guy who's so special to you?"  
  
"Yes," she said somewhat stiffl. She squirmed uncomfortably at the interrogating look Taichi was giving her and the firm tone in his voice. He might as well have had her alone with him locked in a dark office, sitting in a metal chair and attached to a lie detector, with a bare flashbulb hanging over her head, and throwing a bunch of tough questions at her, by the way she was nervously fidgeting.  
  
"Something bothering you?" he asked coolly. "Are my questions a little too probing? Am I making you uneasy?"  
  
Sora stared down at the muddy puddle down by her feet, now still. "Yes." Her voice sounded timid, and to be honest, she was. Something was indeed bothering her, Taichi's questions were too much, and yes, they were making her unbelievably nervous.  
  
"Why?" he asked cautiously.  
  
Sora stood right up, glancing at her wristwatch. "You know what? I have to go now."  
  
"Right now?"  
  
"Yes, right now," she said hurriedly, starting to briskly pace away, without even looking back. "I'd love to chat more, but I just have to go."  
  
Taichi made no attempt to go after her, but her load of guilt stopped her in her tracks a lot better than force could have. She paused and turned around. Taichi had lifted himself off the bench and was beginning to plod back to his home, which Sora knew wasn't just blocks, but a few miles away. Just as he scooped up his ball that had been forgotten in the field, she cried, "Taichi, wait!"  
  
His head swiveled around. "What?"  
  
"Just wait," she said simply, and began to run to him. Just as she was a few steps away, she slipped on the wet grass. Taichi, with his lightening quick reflexes, held his arms out and gracefully caught her without harming her in the process. He helped get her back to her feet, and his arms stayed around her just a little longer than he needed to. "Thank you," she said shyly, a pink blush on her cheeks.  
  
"It was nothing. I didn't want you to get your pretty outfit muddy," Taichi mumbled, scuffing his shoes on the grass. Complimenting didn't come to him very naturally, and Sora knew it too. "You're wet enough already. You were right; you should just be getting along home. Don't let me keep you."  
  
"But I had to come back because of you," Sora said with her same soft voice. "I can't let you walk all the way back to your house. Your apartment is way across town! Mine is only a few blocks away, you can come with me. We're probably sick enough already. Do you want to?"  
  
"Don't let me be a bother to you," he mumbled.  
  
"You're not, Taichi, you're not. Come on." She held her hand out. "Come with me. Please? Walk me home at the very least, who knows what could happen to a weak, innocent, defenseless little girl like me on a dark, scary day like this?"  
  
He crossed his arms. "Hmph! I won't buy that innocent, weak, defenseless damsel in distress act. I know you're a lot stronger than that, Sora. And after all, you've always liked thunderstorms, remember?"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Please, just come home with me. I don't want you catching pneumonia."  
  
"You sound like my mom."  
  
"How often do I hear that?" she asked, exasperated. "Now stop changing the subject, I won't take no for an answer," she told him. "I'll just keep on begging. I can't stand to see you dragging yourself miles to your home in this weather. You're really wet."  
  
"So are you," he remarked. "You look like a drowned rat."  
  
She didn't take his comment with offense, as it was typical of Taichi to compliment her one moment, and the next, say how extremely girly girlish or ridiculous her outfit was. "Look who's talking," she said dryly. "Except--" she remembered vividly-- "'your huge mop of hair is probably absorbing all the rainwater anyway.'"  
  
"You remembered!" he cried, laughing. That had been a common joke between the two of them. Whenever it rained, Sora always said the same line. It had become tradition to them after a while. "It's nice to have tradition again," Taichi said to himself, but aloud.  
  
"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Living life for today is great, but sometimes, it's just good to look back on the past."  
  
"Quoting from Yamato's song, I see," Taichi noted.  
  
At the mention of Yamato, Sora became alert and rigid, as she had when Taichi mentioned the special boy in her life. "Y--yes," she stuttered. There was a moment of silence between them, quite discomfited. Then Sora shook her head, looked back at Taichi, and asked once more, "Please walk home with me?"  
  
If it was her request, he just couldn't refuse. He had always been her knight in shining armor, and even if he hadn't been for a very long time, the role and sense of having to keep Sora well protected washed over him like the steadying rain. Lightning flashed as Taichi extended his own hand and met Sora's. Their fingers curled around each others and came to rest by their sides. "All right, I'll walk home with you. Just because I don't want you endangered or something."  
  
"I'm only doing this because I don't think the sponge on your head can retain anymore water," Sora said, and they laughed.  
  
"Well I'm only doing this because I don't think you should be let down anymore today," Taichi said, not bothering to explain further on what he meant. But Sora understood what he meant. And she had a feeling he understood a whole lot more than he had let off and more than she had told. Her grip on his hand tightened, as they walked down the sidewalk, the rain falling down in torrents on them. She had never felt so safe and content as she did when Taichi was there, though at the present moment, an air of apprehension was surrounding them. Then again, even if it wasn't the reunion they always imagined they would have -- in which they became the best of friends again, on a perfect spring day in the flowery park with a gentle breeze and a bright sun -- it was enough.  
  
End - Part 1 


	2. Emotional Frenzy

So Close, So Far  
By Firenze  
  
Part 2: 'Emotional Frenzy'  
  
The pair of them had lightened up and relaxed after some time, still walking down the street in the heavy rain. Taichi had tried to offer Sora his jacket, but she refused, saying how cold he would be. She won their argument, but in the end, he just took his jacket off and threw it around her. They were still holding hands too.  
  
"If they didn't know any better, someone would think we were a couple," Sora stated.  
  
Taichi couldn't figure out the emotion behind her voice. Either he hadn't been around Sora for so long that he had forgotten how to perceive her feelings, she was being a complete deadpan, or most likely, both. 'Have I forgotten my best friend?' he thought. He looked at Sora's pretty face, studying every curve and contour, the shape of her nose, her soft pink lips, her ruby eyes that could be either gentle or fiery. It was odd the way every part of her seemed so familiar, and yet, so completely alien. The question that was in his mind: when did Sora become so pretty? 'I really don't know my own best friend! ...Well...my old best friend, anyway. Are we still friends now?' Then he suddenly realized he had just been thinking Sora was pretty. 'What's gotten into me?! It isn't Sora, I think I've forgotten *myself*!'  
  
"Taichi. Taichi? Taichi!" Sora yelled, waving her free hand in front of his face. When he finally snapped out of it, she rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Are you daydreaming or something?"  
  
"Yeah," he said automatically, not quite paying attention. Seconds later, after thinking it over, he shook his head vigorously. "I mean, no!"  
  
She giggled, her eyes and entire face lighting up. "Now you're the uneasy one. What's the matter?"  
  
"I was just thinking... Not daydreaming!" he added hastily. "But...I dunno. I just can't shake this weird feeling. Like I've forgotten you."  
  
Sora clasped Taichi's hand a little more tightly. They walked on more, and then she looked up at him. Her eyes met his own, and they stopped. The intensity that came just from looking into each other's eyes was frightening, and she looked away quickly, her face red. "What do you mean you've forgotten me?"  
  
"I dunno..." No matter how he tried to rephrase it, nothing sounded right. He just couldn't put into words what he felt. How could you explain color to someone who had been blind their entire life? "Just...never mind." And surprisingly, she didn't protest or beg him to go on. The rest of their walk was in silence, until they reached Sora's home.  
  
Sora pulled out her key and put it in the lock. Just about the turn it, she looked at Taichi. "I don't think my mom is home. She's probably still at work."  
  
"Your mom never liked me anyway," he said, and Sora gasped.  
  
"What are you talking about?" she asked, surprised. Her eyebrows were raised, and her expression was one of unmistakable shock. "She doesn't hate you!"  
  
"Seems like it," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.  
  
She left her key in the keyhole and took both of Taichi's hands away from his pockets and into her hands. "Trust me, my mom does not hate you. If she did, I wouldn't let her hate you. But I don't have to convince her otherwise, because she doesn't hate you, all right? I mean, if my mom hates any boys I hang out with, she hates Yamato--" The grin faded from her face as quickly as the noise died. Her hands flew to her mouth, and then she whipped around and concentrated intensely on the simple task of turning the key and opening the door. Because of manners, she let Taichi in first, but seemed to ignore him afterwards.  
  
She kicked off her shoes, handed him back his jacket, and bustled into her house, leaving a trail of water on the floor. Taichi remained on the doormat he was making sopping wet, not wanting to wet anything or ruin the Takenouchi home. So he was stranded there like he was marooned on an island, as Sora disappeared into the depths of her house. She came back a while later, wearing a pair of dry clothes, her hair neatly combed, and looking refreshed. But she hadn't been thinking entirely about herself. In her arms were towels and a pair of extra clothes.  
  
"Sorry to keep you waiting," she told him, panting. "I've forgotten all my good hostess etiquette. But here, I brought you some towels. You can take a nice hot shower if you want, you're probably really sick. And I have some clothes here -- I'm sure they won't fit you at all... They're yours, actually... You left them the last time you were here..."  
  
"So those are probably from sixth grade or so," he said.  
  
Sora nodded uncomfortably. "Well yeah, it has been a long time since you've been to my house."  
  
There was a very pregnant pause.  
  
"Well, I'll see if it can't fit," he offered anyhow, shattering the stillness. "I mean, it's been a few years and I've grown a little--"  
  
"A lot," Sora said simultaneously as him.  
  
"--But I guess I could just try..."  
  
"I can go look and see if we have any other clothes here that would fit you, if you want," she suggested, "while you take a shower. If worst comes to worst, we can always just dry your clothes."  
  
"What would I wear then?" he asked before thinking that over in his head. Both of them turned a brilliantly bright shade of crimson.  
  
"Well here's your towel," she said to end the mortifying moment, and handed Taichi the towel. His hands brushed hers as he took it, and it obviously wasn't inadvertently, but Sora did her best to pretend not to notice. "You gonna take a shower?"  
  
"No, I'm fine," he said. "I'll just dry myself off."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
His teeth had been chattering; though not as noticeably until now, so he clamped his jaw down. "Fine," he said through clenched teeth, clutching the towel tightly and trying not to tremble. Where he had so easily hid his worsening cold earlier, he now found it impossible.  
  
"Taichi, you're shivering!" she cried out, dashing to his side. She took the towel back and tossed it around his shoulders. Without realizing what she was doing, she began to dry off the beads of water on his skin. Her actions were gentle and compassionate, and not in any way romantic, but it was rather awkward between them. Again, if any unknowing bystander witnessed this, it would seem like a very idealistic moment the two of them were sharing. It was one of those conditions that would seem very uncompromising if a parent or significant other appeared. But neither of them tried to stop it from happening.  
  
Soon the only sounds left were their heavy breathing, as Sora brought a portion of the towel up to Taichi's face. She dabbed carefully at his cheek, swiped the towel across his forehead, and tried to rid his skin of any droplets. Their faces were only inches apart as she inspected closely to make sure there were no more wet spots... She hurriedly started to dry the area behind his ears to move further away, but in doing so, she had only moved even closer. Taichi, who was becoming increasingly nervous, closed his eyes, not believing at all what was happening between the two of them. It seemed like some surreal fantasy...but it was indeed reality. Sora started to move to his other side, when their noses bumped into each other.  
  
Sora froze, leaving their faces still almost pressed together. "What am I doing?" she whispered to herself. However, their close proximity made her hushed tone just the right volume for speaking to another person literally only millimeters away.  
  
"I wanted to ask the same thing," Taichi replied, as their lips brushed. He moved forward one centimeter, and their lips were pressed against each other. Nothing further happened at the time being...as both weighed out the consequences of this action in their heads. Neither could fully decide.  
  
'I want to do this... Look, I'm so close to doing it, I might as well... But Sora--' He broke off his thoughts and struggled to clear his mind, not wanting to think about what he almost had. He had to keep a clear mind and just act, like he often did in bursts of courage, but frantic second thoughts kept popping up. His bravery had faded through the years, even if in danger he could still become his lion-hearted self. But when it came to moments of romance and passion...he drew a complete blank, and was more nervous than Wormmon in the presence of the former Digimon Kaiser.  
  
Sora faced the same problem, but there was something more, something deeper, something that left her entirely committed... Her reaction should have been to push Taichi off her and refuse, so why wasn't it? She found this one of the hardest decisions to make in such a short allotted moment of time.  
  
"I shouldn't be doing this," she said, trying to sort out her thoughts aloud, but she still found her mind arguing with her heart. After all, in her heart, she genuinely wanted to do it. But her mind, her conscience kept telling her otherwise. She couldn't do it, she just couldn't... Of course, like any girl, she'd kill to kiss Taichi... But she knew she would deeply regret it. Well, it wasn't like they hadn't kissed before, she reasoned... But at that time, it didn't mean anything. They were just two naive, curious kids who had always wondered what it was like. There was no love behind that kiss...but it did make their relationship develop into something a little more.  
  
If high school hadn't caused them to split, they would have definitely been going out. And there was nothing wrong with that at all. But that fact was, it hadn't happened that way. It wasn't that way at all. They were not together, though they might as well have been a couple by the way the sparks flew and fireworks went off when they were together -- today, for example, they just came onto speaking terms after four or five years, and suddenly, less than an hour later, their faces were against each other and their lips touching, their minds made up, just about to kiss...  
  
When the phone rang.  
  
Sora chose not to answer it. She and Taichi had backed up a little bit from each other, but she did not make any attempt to move closer to the phone. She had no idea who it could have been, but honestly, she didn't care, only at the fact that whoever it was ruining her and Taichi's meant-to-be romantic moment, right as they had just made their choice. After some time, and many annoying rings, the answering machine picked it up. Sora held her breath and crossed her fingers -- but it was the exact person she hadn't wanted it to be.  
  
"Hey, Sora, it's me... I know you're home right now. Look, I'm really sorry I kept you waiting... I hope you weren't in the rain. Practice just ran extra long... Our drummer caught the flu and we've had a replacement drummer, but we have to practice all the songs we thought we had down perfect... I hope you understand. I don't know how I can make it up to you... I know we were supposed to do something you wanted to do today... I ran over to the soccer field straight after practice, even through the rain, but no one was there but Daisuke and Ken, and they said that you left with Taichi.  
  
"I have to admit, at first, I got kind of jealous... I guess it's just a boyfriend thing. But I trust Taichi. Are you guys talking again? That's great. I'm so sorry about what I said when we first started dating... That I never wanted you to see Taichi again... I guess I was just worried, because you two had always seemed like the perfect couple in the Digiworld... But I know you two are just friends. I'm sorry for being so jealous and a typical suspicious boyfriend figure...  
  
"Well, I think this must be the world's longest message... Can you just pick up the phone and talk to me? I really need to hear your voice... I know my voice sounds weird, but after singing so much, my throat hurts... I'll cut this message short then. Just call me as soon as you get the chance, or whenever you want to...whatever. I'm just looking forward to hearing from you. You know I can't apologize enough about what happened... Well. Love you." 'Beep!'  
  
Taichi stared into Sora's eyes. Chocolate brown and cinnamon clashed together... There wasn't any words the two rekindled friends could say... The ghostly stillness was all around them. Only the faint echoes of Yamato's voice were what could be heard in their minds... The sensation was intense and deep and between Taichi and Sora, making them feel so many diverse emotions all mixed together at the exact same time... Thoughts, worries, regrets, anguish, fury, confusion, and pain were throwing their hearts and minds into an absolute frenzy... They just stared into each other's eyes, the windows to one's soul...and discovered so much more than they ever thought they could from that act... It was a very contradictory lapse in time, as seconds raced by so rapidly, and yet the instant dragged on so slowly; as it was so strangely silent and tranquil, but complete chaos was raging... And time itself stood still.  
  
End - Part 2 


	3. Love Can Wait

So Close, So Far  
By Firenze  
  
Quick A/N: I had forgotten about this fic! But romance doctor reminded me, and so I'll post this ending even though I don't like it all that much. Oh, and Taigurl, I WILL finish that alternate ending sometimes... It's even sadder than this ending so far...  
  
Part 3: 'Love Can Wait'  
  
Complete disaster had struck. One little message on an answering machine had led to the entire collapse of a touching moment, possibly to an entire friendship that had just recently been rebuilt. Would Taichi and Sora's relationship be ruined once again? Why did Fate mess with their minds, wrench at their hearts in this way; a way that tore them apart just as they were getting closer again? It was as if some powerful force was fully opposed to the two friends becoming a couple. One must only suppose they were always destined to be two opposite poles, like black and white, night and day. But how could two things so strikingly similar, that got along together so well, be forced to spend eternity on unparallel grounds? Perhaps this is a mystery that shall never be solved.  
  
All we know is that this is the situation Taichi and Sora face, and they must find some way to deal with it. But the foremost point they had to sort out was the fact that Sora and Yamato's confidential (or maybe not as much as they suspected) relationship had been exposed and now hung in the air like a bad odor.  
  
They each waited for the other to speak, but they didn't. Each could sense the very clear expressions on one another's faces and didn't want to say anything that could possibly make the other snap. As it was, they were already hanging on a frayed rope, treading on thin ice, and one wrong action could cause an explosion to erupt. So they remained quiet.  
  
It's impossible to maintain pure silence for so long, especially between two hurt and confused people in a moment like this. Eventually, one of them had to make some sort of comment. It was Sora who did this. "Taichi," she said softly, in a cautious tone. "I-- I--"  
  
"It's okay, spare yourself the apology..." he said, his eyes becoming threateningly watery, despite what he would say next. "I already knew."  
  
"You did?" she asked, bewildered.  
  
"In a sense. I could just tell somehow, by the way you twitched and became all rigid at the mention of a special boy and Yamato and -- it was just like foreshadowing. You didn't have to say it loud to make it clear. I had already got the message -- not literally...but I just knew. I knew for years."  
  
"We -- we've only been dating a couple months," she said, her eyes wide and frightful.  
  
"Yeah... But I knew it would happen eventually. Even if you had no hints of romantic feelings between you, I just had this gut feeling it would happen. I'm not saying I can tell the future... But I'm just glad I figured out this would happen before it hurt me even more."  
  
Sora sniffled. "How badly hurt are you?"  
  
"A lot less than I'd've expected of myself... I guess I've gotten stronger, or knowing this information in advance has helped me accept it... I don't know. But I know I'm not as hurt as you think I am," he said confidently.  
  
"And why is that?" She looked at him, and their eyes met. They did not look away, and this time, it wasn't as frighteningly intense as it had been before.  
  
"Because I'm not in love with you."  
  
Their practically staring contest went on for a long time, again it was wordlessly. Until Taichi blinked. He didn't only blink once, he blinked a few times, and finally had to look away. It was like staring at the sun for too long -- after all, he had compared Sora to the sun earlier, hadn't he? It turned out it worked in more ways than one.  
  
Sora remembered something Jun had told Yamato, and something he had reiterated to Sora every time she blinked constantly while telling him something. 'You can tell when someone is lying because they blink a lot.' Sure, some people were exceptions, and this method would not work in every scenario, but it worked often. However, Taichi had kept his steely glare for a surprisingly long time before breaking out into a fit of blinking. Had he been fighting the urge to blink, to maintain steady eye contact to hide any fears? Whatever it was, Sora had no clue what to make of his statement.  
  
"...You don't love me?" she repeated. "Why would I have thought you did?" she added slowly.  
  
He sighed. "Don't deny it. I know you thought I was in love with you... Everyone did. It just seemed so obvious." His eyes stared into hers again, though she didn't return it. "Well sometimes the most obvious answer isn't the true one. And sometimes it's entirely opposite from that. The least obvious one is the true one."  
  
There was nothing she could say to that, especially since he refused to hear any of her desperate apologies. So she didn't.  
  
Luckily, Taichi had just the right words, words planned out in his mind to say like a speech, that it would be a mouthful and enough for both of them put together. "You've changed, Sora. Not because you decided to date Yamato... Your change happened after that. Look what you're wearing! For no particular reason, you're wearing a skirt. You're wearing pink!"  
  
"Why is that so amazing to you? I happen to be a girl! Maybe you don't realize it, but other people do. That's why I'm dating Yamato. Because someone actually cares about me because I'm a girl. You still want me to be the eleven-year-old tomboy that you envision as the real me." She had hit it right on target; entirely what Taichi had been thinking. "I'm not like that anymore, okay?! I'm not eleven-years-old anymore! So stop treating me like I am!"  
  
"When did I treat you like an eleven-year-old?" he demanded. "*Why* would I treat you like it?!"  
  
"You tell me! Why are you so dead set against me and Yamato? Why does it bother you so much if you supposedly don't love me?" Her hands were on her hips and she glared at him expectantly, waiting for a good answer.  
  
"You're putting words into my mouth!" he sputtered. "I'm not dead set against you and Yamato being a couple! I never said that!"  
  
"You didn't have to say it," she said quietly, breathing evenly out her nostrils. "I could just tell somehow. I know you too well for you to try to hide things that are this obvious. So maybe you've forgotten me. That's your loss. Just because you can't keep up with my changes doesn't mean I have to stop and wait for you. So you miss my tomboy self... Well I miss you too." Her last sentence lacked the force her previous paragraph had. Even before she had said her last word, she averted her gaze from him.  
  
His eyebrows were knitted. "What do you mean, 'you miss me?' I'm not the one who's changed."  
  
Sora's voice was now even quieter, and it lacked all the passion and rage she had had. In fact, she softened considerably and wasn't mad at all. "Everyone changes, Taichi. You're just like the rest of us. Maybe you don't notice it because you're you, but you have changed. A lot."  
  
"How?" he asked, his fury fading away also.  
  
"Like me, you've grown up... You've changed in so many ways... Too many to name... And you've matured too much."  
  
Now he was just entirely confused. "What?! I've matured to much? What are you talking about? That makes no sense!"  
  
Her crimson eyes were misty, tears close at hand. "I actually wish you were mad at me for dating Yamato, I wish you were jealous and tried to split us up. Why do you have so much willpower to have this not get to you? I know, I shouldn't be saying this -- I should be glad you are creating some sort of triangle between us--"  
  
Taichi's fury flared up again, like someone had just poured gasoline in the campfire that had been dying away. Never had he been so mixed up in his entire life. Everything Sora said made absolutely no sense. Why did she expect him to understand? "Damn right! Why would you *want* a triangle?! You have Yamato! Isn't that who you wanted?!"  
  
The barrier broke and a flood of tears came pouring down her cheeks. "Yes -- no...I don't know!" She threw her hands into the air with impatience. "Love -- it's too confusing for me to be entirely sure... I'm sorry I can't make up my mind... I'm sorry I'm not perfect like you!"  
  
"When did I say I was perfect?!" He shouted back, too confused; too confused to understand what she was saying, *why* she was saying it. Everything Sora said only made less sense than the one before. "Stop trying to know what I'm thinking, because you don't! I *have* changed... We both have. And we haven't been together when all these changes happened, and so it's impossible to think we can still tell what each other is feeling by looking into each other's eyes. I accept that we weren't close for a long time and it's messed up everything we shared before...why can't you realize this?"  
  
He took a deep breath and started yelling again, about something different, without even waiting for her response to what he had just said. "And now here's what I really want to know. Why should I love you, why should I ruin your and Yamato's relationship if you wanted to be with him?! It doesn't add up!"  
  
"I don't know if it's still what I want!" She wiped her wet face with the towel she had just earlier been drying Taichi off with. "I'm not so sure of myself and everything else like you are... I'm not sure if you're not the person I wish I could be with!"  
  
"I'm not sure if I want to be with you either," he said, lowering his voice, since it was getting hoarse. "But why else would we be so close to a kiss?"  
  
"Why did we stop?" she interrupted.  
  
"Because the phone rang--!" he began, then stopped. His voice changed to an even softer one; he was telling himself all this too. "But even before our lips fully connected, we had already been pulling back..."  
  
"Exactly," she whispered, her throat hoarse.  
  
"We're just not ready to be making decisions like this. I mean, it's been years since we talked!" he pointed out. "We're friends again now -- I think -- and that's about as far as we should be going. We can't try to push it any further. We have to rebuild our relationship entirely, before we start going on about love."  
  
"So basically you're saying love can wait."  
  
He nodded.  
  
"What if I can't?" she asked weakly.  
  
"You have to. I mean, you have to make up your mind about how we feel about each other, how you feel about Yamato... Only then can we get everything sorted. When we're sure of our hearts."  
  
"I don't think I'll ever be sure of my heart..." Sora whispered. "Love isn't easy."  
  
Taichi instantly remembered a quote he had heard before, and it seemed to flow naturally from his lips. "No one ever said love was going to be easy. William Shakespeare himself once said, 'The course of true love never did run smooth.'"  
  
"Since when did you know Shakespeare quotes?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.  
  
"That's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is, love isn't, never was, never will be, something we can just be sure of in a matter of seconds. It's not something we should just run into blindfolded. So before you suck me into some huge love triangle, think it over first. I will too." He paused. "And maybe then... Maybe we'll find out. We could end up together... Yamato and you could stay together... We can't know."  
  
"I suppose..." she said. "See, why do you have to be so smart about these things? You've grown up so much more than I have, and I was always the one mature for my age. It made me feel better to know I was having a positive influence on you, helping you make the right decision. Now...now I'm not someone you can go to for advice."  
  
"I never went to you for advice," he disagreed. "You supplied it. And I'll always be grateful. But -- but I don't need you anymore to grow up, like you always told me to... I already have. Maybe that's what's keeping us apart, not something like you and Yamato. We just both keep reaching for a person we think both of us still are -- but we aren't. I'm in love with the old you, and you're in love with the old me... But that'll always be all it is... What we used to be."  
  
Sora sighed deeply. "Suppose we didn't change at all. Do you think we would have gotten together?"  
  
This was a question he couldn't answer. How would he know if they'd have been together if history was different. "I don't know... I just don't know. Things would have been easier than, huh?"  
  
"A *lot* easier," she agreed. "But that didn't happen. And if life was all just easy decisions and all -- where's the excitement? We have a tough decision in front of us now... And there's still a chance we could get together, it's just harder." She hesitated. "...There is a chance, right?"  
  
"Sure there's a chance," he said. "And we'll just find out when it happens... Not now, maybe not for a very long time... But we'll just have to accept whatever happens. Why...do you want us to be together? Have you already made up your mind?" He seemed very expectant.  
  
"Not at all," she said, sinking down onto the couch and hugging a pillow to her chest. "But maybe there's something you can do to help me decide. Can you?"  
  
Taichi looked at her. "Anything. What is it?"  
  
"Well you said anything..." she trailed off. And without having to even tell him, he just knew. Maybe the act of looking into one another's eyes to discover their emotions wasn't entirely gone from their relationship. Because from studying the depths of Sora's ruby irises, looking for the dazzling light hidden in the dark of her pupils...the rest of her statement was finished, and Taichi realized it.  
  
Sora stood back up, Taichi moved closer, and their arms went around each other in an embrace. One of his hands went to cup her cheek and chin, and his thumb went over her cheek to wipe away any traces of tears left on her face. Then they leaned in closer...and performed the act they had attempted earlier -- but this time, there was nothing to stop them from doing it. Not the phone, not Yamato, not any sort of doubts... Nothing was holding them back...  
  
And they kissed.  
  
It wasn't just any kiss. It wasn't the first kiss they both had, which coincidentally or not, came from each other. The first time was an experiment. Even more, it had been a dare. It was a discovery. All they got from it was losing the opportunity of their first kiss and a sense of what it was like to kiss someone of the opposite sex who was in no way related. This time, they were already aware of what it would be like.  
  
They just didn't know how much it would be. They could have never expected the powerful electricity that flowed through them. They could have never imagined the fantastic fireworks they saw, even with their eyes closed. Or the way the kiss touched every part of their body and made their spines tingle. They hadn't known how much this kiss would affect them at all.  
  
And it was possibly the last romantic moment they would ever have -- or maybe only the last before they were finally together. Either way, both of them were okay with it. *That* was closure, whichever way it would turn out. Time would just have to tell...and love would just have to wait. It would all be settled in the end, they hoped. After all, they had been so close... And yet, so far...  
  
.:The End:.  
  
Author's Note: I know I took the title from Madd Spammer's fic! Well hey, I love that fic, even me being the big shipper I am. Now to you shippers... Who wanted to see Sora and Taichi end up together? I'm sorry, I'm on a drama kick, and have a whole load of depressing Taioras written. Could be because of the Sorato news, but it's just like that for me. I can't write anything happy! Awww, it's not like it's never happened before.  
  
Anyway, I'm just proud that I finally finished a fic. With parts! (I have the most trouble with those kinds) Keep in mind that I only finally recovered from a month of extreme writer's block. I mean, serious, Serious, SERIOUS block. I blame it on all the essays we had to write in class. But I'm actually glad I wrote those essays... I mean, have you ever seen me write a simile in any of my other fics, EVER? Seriously, my teacher cracked a whip on us with all the similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, junk, and extreme detail ("show, not tell!") our essays had to have. I'd like to think it improved my writing, maybe by the tiniest smidgen... But that's up for you to decide.  
  
Disclaimer: Digimon is not mine. I'm simply a fan (note the word 'loyal' is gone...the official Sorato has had me lose faith in Toei and whoever else is responsible) of the show, and the use of their characters in my fic is simply because I suck at making up characters and it's easier to have characters with pre-supplied backgrounds, so I don't have to spend too much time explaining them. I may change a few things, like having Taichi not crush on Sora, or know that she's dating Yamato, but that's pretty much the extent of it. 


End file.
